Method for separating a feed material containing immiscible phases of different densities

ABSTRACT

A solvent diluted bitumen is produced by a method that includes adding paraffinic solvent to bitumen froth to form a solvent diluted bitumen froth, and discharging the solvent diluted bitumen froth into a vessel, such that settlement of the solvent diluted bitumen froth in the interior of the vessel establishes a heavier phase zone, a lighter phase zone, and an interface. A discharge point is located above the interface and within the lighter phase zone. Lighter phases separate up toward an overflow outlet of the vessel while heavier phases separate down toward an underflow outlet of the vessel. The solvent diluted bitumen is collected from the overflow outlet, and a solvent diluted underflow stream is collected from the underflow outlet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No.13/252,102, filed Oct. 3, 2011, which claims the priority of CanadianPatent Application No. 2,719,874 filed Nov. 2, 2010. The completedisclosures of the above-referenced applications are herein expresslyincorporated by references in their entireties

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods and equipment for separatinghydrocarbon components from aqueous slurries with particles in a dilutedbitumen froth feed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Oil sand extraction processes are used to liberate and separate bitumenfrom oil sand so the bitumen can be further processed. Numerous oil sandextraction processes have been developed and commercialized using wateras a processing medium. One such water extraction process is the Clarkehot water extraction process, which recovers the bitumen product in theform of a bitumen froth stream.

The bitumen froth stream produced by the Clarke hot water processcontains water in the range of 20 to 45%, more typically 30% by weightand minerals from 5 to 25%, more typically 10% by weight which must bereduced to levels acceptable for downstream processes.

At Clarke hot water process temperatures ranging from 40 to 80° C.,bitumen in bitumen froth is both viscous and has a density similar towater. To permit separation by gravitational separation processes,commercial froth treatment processes involve the addition of a diluentto facilitate the separation of the diluted hydrocarbon phase from thewater and minerals.

Initial commercial froth treatment processes utilized a hydrocarbondiluent in the boiling range of 170-400° C. commonly referred to as anaphtha diluent in a two stage centrifuging separation process. Limitedunit capacity, capital and operational costs associated with centrifugespromoted applying alternate separation equipment for processing dilutedbitumen froth such as those described in Canadian Patent No. 1,267,860(Hann) and Canadian Patent No, 1,293,465 (Hyndman et al). In theseprocesses, the diluent naphtha was blended with the bitumen froth at aweight ratio of diluent to bitumen (D/B) in the range of 0.3 to 1.0 andproduced a diluted bitumen product with typically less than 4 weight percent water and 1 weight percent mineral which was suitable for dedicatedbitumen upgrading processes. Generally, operating temperatures for theseprocesses were specified such that diluted froth separation vessels werelow pressure vessels with pressure ratings less than 105 kPag. Otherfroth separation processes using naphtha diluent such as those describedin U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,791 (Baillie) and Canadian Patent No. 2,021,185(Tipman et al) involve operating temperatures that require frothseparation vessels rated for pressures up to 5000 kPag. Usingconventional vessel sizing methods, the cost of pressure vessels andassociated systems designed for and operated at this high pressurelimits the commercial viability of these processes.

Heavy oils such as bitumen are sometimes described in terms of relativesolubility as comprising: firstly, a pentane soluble fraction which,except for higher molecular weight and boiling point, resembles adistillate oil; secondly, a less soluble resin fraction; thirdly, aparaffinic insoluble asphaltene fraction characterized as high molecularweight organic compounds with sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals thatare often poisonous to catalysts used in heavy oil upgrading processes.It is well known in the art that paraffinic hydrocarbons precipitateasphaltenes from heavy oils to produce deasphalted heavy oil withcontaminate levels acceptable for subsequent downstream upgradingprocesses. Descriptions of deasphalting operations may be found in U.S.Pat. No. 3,278,415 (Doderenz et al), U.S. Pat. No. 2,188,013 (Pilat etat) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,426 (Peet et al). In these processescontaminates follow the asphaltenes when the asphaltenes areprecipitated by paraffinic solvents having compositions from C3 to C10when the heavy oil is diluted with 2 to 10 times the volume of solvent.

High water and mineral content distinguish bitumen froth from the heavyoil deasphalted in the above processes. Some early attempts to adaptdeasphalting operations to processing bitumen from oil sands areidentified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,902 (Mitchell et al) and U.S. Pat. No.4,634,520 (Angelov et al). These patents generally discloseprecipitation of essentially a mineral free, deasphalted product, theability to vary the amount of asphaltene precipitated, and theenhancement of asphaltene precipitation by addition of water andchemical agents.

Recent investigations in treating bitumen froth with paraffinic solventsas identified in Canadian Patents 2,149,737 (Tipman et al) and 2,217,300(Tipman et al) have resulted in paraffinic froth treatment processesdescribed in Canadian Patents 2,200,899 (Tipman et al); 2,232,929(Birkholz et al); 2,350,907 (Picavet et al); 2,454,942 (Hyndman et al)and U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,709 (Duyvesteyn et al). Central to theseprocesses are froth settling vessels (FSV) arranged in a counter-currentflow configuration. In process configurations, counter-current flowrefers to a processing scheme where a process medium is added to a stagein the process to extract a component in the feed to that stage, and themedium with the extracted component is blended into the feed of thepreceding stage. Counter-current flow configurations are widely appliedin process operations to achieve both product quality specifications andoptimal recovery of a component with the number of stages dependent onthe interaction between the desired component in the feed stream and theselected medium, and the efficiency of stage separations. Indeasphalting operations processing heavy oil with low mineral solids,separation using counter-current flow can be achieved within a singleseparation vessel. However, rapidly setting mineral particles in bitumenfroth preclude using a single separation vessel as this material tendsto foul the internals of conventional deasphalting vessels.

FIG. 1 illustrates a two stage process such as disclosed in CanadianPatent No. 2,454,942 (Hyndman et al). In this process, bitumen froth 100at 80-95° C. is mixed with overflow product 102 from a second stage FSV104 at mixer 101 such that the solvent to bitumen ratio in the dilutedfroth stream 106 to a first stage FSV 108 is above the threshold toprecipitate asphaltenes from the bitumen froth. For paraffinic frothtreatment processes with pentane as the paraffinic solvent, thethreshold solvent to bitumen ratio as known in the art is about 1.2which significantly increases the feed volume to the FSV. The firststage FSV 108 separates the diluted froth into an overflow stream 110comprising a partially to fully deasphalted oil with a low water andmineral content, and an underflow stream 112 containing the rejectedasphaltenes, water, and minerals together with residual maltenes fromthe bitumen feed and solvent due to the stage efficiency. First stageunderflow stream 112 is mixed with a paraffinic solvent 114 at mixer 115to form a diluted feed 116 for the second stage FSV 104. The secondstage FSV 104 recovers residual maltenes from the bitumen and solvent.It is important to recognize the different process functions of stagesin a counter-current process configuration. In this case, the operationof first stage FSV 108 focuses on product quality and the second stageFSV 104 focuses on recovery of residual hydrocarbon from the underflowof the first stage FSV. Another aspect is that the process is operatedat temperatures that require controlling the pressure in either stagesuch that solvent vaporization in the FSVs is limited. It is alsounderstood by persons skilled in use of counter-current flow schemesthat various aspects of the flow scheme can be modified to provide anoptimized process configuration based on the characteristics of the feedor product. These aspects include the use of additional stages, theintroduction of the feed stream at different stages within the overallflow scheme, and bypassing a portion of the media stream around a stage.

Independent of the stage in which the separation vessel is located, theintroduced feed is separated into two outlet streams: an overflow and anunderflow stream. By introducing feed between the two outlet streams,the vessel separation is also classed as counter-current by internalflow patterns. In contrast, vessels such as disclosed in Canadian patent2,527,058 (Hann) are distinguished by vessel separations classed byinternal flow patterns as co-current.

For all gravity based separation schemes, whether counter-current orco-current flow, the separation principles are governed by Stokes' Lawwhereby particles tend to separate in fluid media at a rate dependent onthe viscous properties of the fluid and the mass density and sizedifferential of the particles. In some applications, the solid phase isa liquid which forms immiscible droplets in the liquid phase.

For settlers that employ counter-current flow patterns, significantprecedent literature exists to specify the vessel arrangement. Inprocess industries, these vessels are frequently identified asclarifiers if the prime focus is on the overflow product and thickenersif the prime focus is on underflow product. In some cases, a singlevessel due to specific fluid properties can encompass both objectives.In paraffinic froth treatment, the overflow stream accounts for asignificant portion of the feed stream. The following discussion focuseson the adaptation of conventional clarifier procedures for specifying afirst stage FSV producing a high quality deasphalted oil product fromdiluted bitumen feed. Similar adaptation of conventional thickenerprocedures apply to the specification of the last stage FSV.

Sizing of conventional clarifiers is derived from Stokes' Law forgravity settling of solids either as solid particles or immiscibleliquid drops in a liquid phase. In some clarification applications, suchas American Petroleum Institute (API) separators for treating water forenvironmental discharges, performance requirements based on Stokes' Laware reflected in regulations. However, many parameters that affect thesettling behaviours cannot be adequately predicted in advanceparticularly, when coalescence, flocculation or other sedimentationenhancement processes are involved. Where coalescence, flocculation orother sedimentation enhancement processes occur naturally orartificially, settling tests are conducted that cover the expectedoperating envelope for the settling vessel. This includes the use ofchemical additives, mixing or other techniques known to affect settlerperformance. Generally, the testing involves static jar settling teststo determine the bulk settling rate and involves mixing the feed andallowing the mixed feed stream to settle over time. Perry's ChemicalEngineers Handbook 6th Edition outlines on pages 19-53 basicsedimentation test procedures available. Frequently the settling occursin fluids that are relatively opaque and optical systems are employed inthe testing.

Conversion of settling rates obtained from static test data by publisheddesign procedures tend to scale a clarifier for only 50% of the observedsettling rate. Examples of such published procedures may be found inreferences such as Mineral Processing Plant Design, Practice And ControlProceedings: Andrew Mular, Doug Halbe, Derek Barratt SME 2002, orPerry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, page 19-54. Thescaling for 50% of the observed settling rate establishes the requiredsettling area for the clarifier, and therefore the vessel diameter forcylindrical vessels such as settlers. The vessel diameter isproportionally related to the wall thickness required to contain thepressure of the vessel contents.

The settling test also provides static detention times to achieve theseparation which represents the volume required in the clarifier abovethe interface to achieve the overflow quality. To account for turbulenceand non-uniform flow, practitioners apply a detention factor whensetting the height between the interface and the overflow such asdisclosed in FIG. 19-71 of Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook 6^(th)Edition where detention factors range from 60% to 25%. For frothsettling vessels, static detention times in conjunction with applieddetention factors result in a diameter to depth ratio of 1:1. Thisvolume is directly related to the weight of the vessel which affects thestructural support and foundation requirements for the vessel. Thelarger the size of the vessel as influenced by design factors, thegreater the vessel cost. Limiting the size of the vessel by reducing theheight may be accomplished by making the cone angle on the vessel bottomrelatively low (up to 10 degrees to horizontal). Rakes or similarscraping devices are used in such vessels to aid transport of solids onthe low cone angle to a centre discharge.

The fact that current settler vessel design techniques apply designfactors for both settling rates and detention times which tend toincrease the size of the vessel and significantly increase the cost ofthe vessels is well known to the applicant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address this issue, applicant has developed a novel settling vesseland method that results in a smaller settling vessel with resultingreduced material and fabrication costs while still maintaining theperformance separation performance objectives.

Accordingly, there is provided apparatus for separating a feedcontaining immiscible phases of different densities comprising:

-   -   a vessel having a top, side walls, and a base defining an        interior having a height and a diameter;    -   a feed inlet to deliver feed to the interior whereby settling of        the feed establishes a heavier phase zone in the vicinity of the        sloped base and a lighter phase zone above an interface with the        heavier phase zone;    -   an overflow outlet for the lighter phase zone;    -   an underflow outlet for the heavier phase zone;    -   whereby the height/diameter ratio of the vessel, the dimensions        and position of the feed inlet and the fluid properties of the        feed are selected to allow a feed velocity of the feed        discharging from the feed inlet into the interior to dissipate        in the lighter phase zone as the discharged feed entrains        lighter phase material above the interface and spreads across        the vessel interior such that the lighter phases of the feed        separate up to the overflow outlet and the heavier phases        separate down to the underflow outlet.

In a further aspect, there is provided a method for separating a feedcontaining immiscible phases of different densities comprising:

-   -   providing a vessel having a top, side walls, and a base defining        an interior having a height and a diameter such that settlement        of feed in the interior of the vessel establishes a heavier        phase zone in the vicinity of the base and a lighter phase zone        above an interface with the heavier phase zone;    -   discharging feed at a feed velocity into the interior of the        vessel via a feed inlet, the height/diameter ratio of the        vessel, the dimensions and position of the feed inlet and the        properties of the feed being selected such that the feed        velocity of the feed dissipates in the lighter phase zone as the        discharged feed entrains lighter phase material above the        interface and spreads across the vessel interior;    -   collecting the lighter phases of the feed as the lighter phases        separates up to an overflow outlet; and    -   collecting the heavier phases of the feed as the heavier phases        separate down to an underflow outlet.

The apparatus and method describes find particular application in thehandling of a bitumen froth feed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present invention are illustrated, merely by way ofexample, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a two stage forth settler vesselconfiguration using counter-current flow in accordance with the priorart;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevation view of the bitumen froth settlerapparatus according to a first embodiment with an external launder;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the bitumen froth settler apparatusaccording to a second embodiment with a sealed top without a launder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A requirement of counter-current settling vessels is to inject the feedstream between the overflow and underflow outlets in a manner thatpermits effective use of the settler cross sectional area. Generally,this is achieved by a deflector baffle or plate or other device thatredirects and injects the feed perpendicular to the bulk flows withinthe separation zone of the settler. The resulting turbulence and mixingaround this feed zone is directly attributed to the design factors thatare applied to settling rates and detention times when sizing settlingvessels as discussed above.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling techniques described inliterature such as Ersteeg et al., “An Introduction to ComputationalFluid Dynamics: the Finite Volume Method”, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd.,1995 or Freziger et al. “Computational Methods for Fluid Dynamics”, 2ndEdition, Springer, 1999, permit detailed investigations of hydrodynamicflow patterns. The general concept of CFD modelling is to solvenumerically the fundamental equations of fluid motion over a connectedarray of computational cells that compose the geometry of interest. CFDmodelling is supported by detailed understanding of the fluid dynamicsand transport properties for fluids either from literature or byspecific tests, modelling methods for turbulence involvingsemi-empirical constants to tune the model and modelling of multiplephases reflecting particle/droplet diameters, phase densities and fluidviscosity.

Initial CFD modelling studies with a deflector plate at variouspositions and configurations in the feed pipe confirmed theapplicability of design factors to conventional settler sizing. It wasonly when applicant removed the deflector plate and the feed was allowedto discharge vertically toward the bottom of the vessel that the designfactors with respect to the settling rate could be reduced and thediameter of the settler vessel thereby reduced. Subsequent CFD modellingby applicant established trade-offs between the location of the feedpipe, the dimensions of the feed pipe and the interface between thephases as detailed below.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a first embodiment according to theinvention of apparatus 2 for separating a feed containing immisciblephases of different densities into separate phases. In a preferredembodiment, the feed is a hydrocarbon feed to be separated into lighterand heavier phase components. The apparatus comprises a vessel 4 havinga top 6, side walls 8, and a base 10 defining an interior 12 having aside wall height H and a diameter D. In a preferred arrangement, sidewalls 8 are generally cylindrical and top 6 is generally domed. Base 4is preferably generally sloped and, more preferably, has a generallyconical configuration.

A feed inlet in the form of a feed pipe 14 is provided at the top ofvessel 4 to deliver feed 13 into interior 12 of the vessel. At steadystate within the vessel, the feed settles due to gravity to establish aheavier phase zone 16 in the vicinity of sloped base 4 and a lighterphase zone 18 above an intermediate interface 20 with the heavier phasezone.

An overflow outlet in the form of an external overflow launder 22extends about the outer perimeter of walls 8 adjacent the top of thevessel to collect overflow of the lighter phase zone. In alternativeembodiments, with appropriate allowances for stream flow lines, theoverflow launder may be at least one internal launder adjacent the topof the vessel.

At conical base 4, an underflow outlet 24 for the heavier phase zone isprovided. Preferably, underflow outlet 24 is positioned adjacent an apex26 of the conical base and flow therethrough is controlled by a valve orpump(not shown). The valve or pump serve to regulate the interface levelbetween the lighter and heavier phases.

A person skilled in the art of material separation will recognize lightphase settling occurs in a hydrocarbon continuous phase and heavy phasesettling occurs in a largely aqueous continuous phase with the interfacerepresenting a discontinuity between the hydrocarbon and aqueous phase.However, conventional methods outlined above for the sizing of settlervessels are derived for settling within one continuous phaseconsequently those skilled in the art of gravitational separation willselect one phase as controlling for sizing the settler vessel andlargely ignore the other phase. Applicant has determined that theinterface between the light and heavy phases permits assigningclarification and thickening requirements to distinct zones within thesettler. This insight led to the notion of directing the feed pipevertically downward from an elevation that allowed the dischargemomentum of the feed at the feed entry point into the vessel to beadequately dissipated by interaction with the fluid of the light phasezone to maintain a stable interface. This dissipation of momentum andthe interaction with the phase interface can be modelled by current CFDtechniques and is supported by limited physical testing which hasconfirmed the CFD model prediction.

Returning to FIG. 2, in either clarification or thickening, the diameterD of the vessel is selected to provide at least a cross-sectional areato allow an upwardly rising velocity v₁ of the lighter phase materialtoward the top of the vessel to overflow into launder 22 as a productstream 23. The rising velocity is less than the minimum settling rate asdetermined from settling test spanning the operating envelope within thevessel with acceptable levels of contaminants for product stream 23.

Where clarification is the primary function of the settler, such as afirst stage froth settler vessel illustrated at 108 in FIG. 1, theminimum height H for the generally cylindrical portion of the vessel, asmeasured between overflow surface 28 of lighter phase zone 18 and theintersection of the cylindrical wall 8 with the conical base 4 (FIG. 2),provides a separation distance h₁ between the discharge of the feed pipe14 and the interface 20 between lighter phase zone 18 and heavier phasezone 16 that allows the velocity momentum at the discharge of the feedpipe to be dissipated by entrainment of light phase fluid such that theinterface is stable. Determining the minimum separation distance h₁involves conducting a hydraulic analysis taking into account the fluidproperties of the feed and the light phase zone, and the feed pipediameter including flow stream appurtenances.

When thickening is the primary function of the settler, such as a secondstage froth settler vessel illustrated at 104 in FIG. 1, the volume ofthe conical base is selected to provide a retention time as establishedby conventional testing and sizing methods to minimize hydrocarbonvalues while ensuring rapidly settling solids or emulsions stablydischarge in underflow stream 25 (FIG. 2). As underflow streams inparaffinic froth treatment processes, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, aresmaller than the respective overflow streams and contain rapidlysettling solids, the required retention time for thickening is generallyprovided by the volume of the conical base. The zone between theclarification and thickening zones identifies the range over which theinterface needs to be controlled by a valve or pump. In cases where thehydrocarbon feed contains a significant volume of contaminants, such aswater, the minimum height H for the generally cylindrical portion of thevessel as measured between the overflow surface 28 of the lighter phaseand the intersection of the cylindrical wall 8 with the conical base 4required for clarification would be increased by an incremental heightto increase the volume of the cone to provide the required retentiontime for separation.

Given the settler vessel diameter is established by the settling rate,the volume with the cone for thickening retention time depends on theangle of the cone. The angle of the cone may be lower than the angle ofrepose for the settled solids if the settler uses rakes or other meansto transport the settled solids to the underflow outlet 24. Having theangle of the cone greater than the angle of repose of the settled solidsallows for withdrawal of the underflow stream without mechanical aidssuch as rakes or mixers.

If the retention time in the thickening zone of the settler is excessivebased on settling test results, differential settling with the thickenerzone can create operation instabilities. To address this issue,conventional cone flush media such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,954,414 (Davitt) may be used. Another possible option is the use ofshear thinning pump loops as outlined in F. Baczek, “Paste ThickeningDesign Evolving to Higher Capacities and Efficiencies”, InternationalMinimizing Supplement to Paste Tailing Management, March 2007. Stillfurther, schemes such as withdrawal of a middling stream as disclosed inCanadian Patent No. 2,323,929 (Birkholtz et al.) can be applied tominimize operational instabilities.

Bitumen froth feeds can contain entrained and/or dissolved gases. Inaddition, the solvent that is part of the froth stream may release gasvapours at the operating temperatures and pressures of the vessel. Ifthe operating conditions of the settler are not set to prevent theevolution of gases from the bitumen froth feed, then provisions areneeded to prevent the gas from rising within the interior of the vesselcreating flotation convection currents that will tend to upset theseparation process. To address this problem, and as best shown in FIG.2, the settler may include a degassing means in the form of a pipe 30which acts to disengage vapour from the bitumen froth feed. Degassingpipe 30 is preferably mounted co-axially about feed pipe 14 and extendsfurther into the interior of the vessel than the feed pipe, and mayinclude a perforated section (not shown). The degassing pipe provides apath for dissolved gases that may be released from bitumen froth feed 13to be vented without upsetting the settling conditions in the vessel. Ifgas is permitted to vent directly into the lighter fluid phase zone 18,it can change the zone hydraulics and entrain contaminants in theoverflow product stream within launder 22.

The vessel of FIG. 2 also preferably includes a venting outlet 32 in theform of a pipe adjacent the top of the vessel. Vapours released eitherfrom feed 13 or the vaporization of separated light phase material arecollected at the top of the vessel for release through the vent pipe.The vent pipe may be used to regulate the pressure in the settler vesselby controlling the rate at which vapours are released.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the settler apparatusaccording to the invention. In FIG. 3, features which are identical tothe features of the vessel illustrated in FIG. 2 have the same referencenumber. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the operation of the vessel isfundamentally the same as described above. Instead of having a launderoverflow outlet, the vessel of FIG. 3 relies on the overflow productfilling the upper portion of the vessel. Overflow product stream 23exits the vessel via an overflow outlet 40 at the top of the vessel. Inother words, the vapour space above the liquid level 28 of the vessel ofFIG. 2 is now filled with overflow product. In this arrangement,degassing pipe 30 vents externally to the vessel via line 34. Lack of anoverflow launder makes the vessel of FIG. 3 potentially easier tofabricate. In the vessel of FIG. 3, the height H of the vessel ismeasured between the intersection of the cylindrical side wall 8 withthe conical base and the tangent line at which the top cover 6 joins theside wall 8.

EXAMPLE 1

Based on a first stage froth settler vessel processing 2440 m³/hour ofdiluted bitumen froth feed with external launder 0.5 meters wide with a10 degree slope and a 60 degree cone, the table below compares thedimensions of a settler vessel designed according to conventional sizingmethods and according to the principles of the present invention:

Conventional Settler with Settler according horizontal feed to theinjection present invention Vessel Diameter (D) meters 18.6 13.4 VesselSidewall (H) meters 10.0 16.9 Vessel Surface for pressure 2955 2008containment, square meters Vessel Contained Liquid 4176 2925 Volume,cubic meters

The settler of the present invention has both a reduced surface area anda reduced volume which for the same operating pressure providessignificant fabrication cost savings while being capable of handling thesame volume of feed.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by wayof example for purposes of clarity and understanding, it will beapparent that certain changes and modifications may be practised withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for producing solvent diluted bitumen,the method comprising: adding paraffinic solvent to bitumen froth toform a solvent diluted bitumen froth; discharging a feed comprising thesolvent diluted bitumen froth into a vessel, the vessel comprising atop, side walls, and a base defining an interior having a height and adiameter defining a height/diameter ratio, such that settlement of thesolvent diluted bitumen froth in the interior of the vessel establishesa heavier phase zone in a lower section of the interior, a lighter phasezone in an upper section of the interior, and an interface in betweenthe heavier phase zone and the lighter phase zone; wherein thedischarging of the feed into the interior of the vessel is performed viaa feed inlet having a discharge point located above the interface andwithin the lighter phase zone, the height/diameter ratio of the vessel,dimensions and position of the feed inlet, properties of the feed, and afeed velocity at the discharge point being selected such that the feedvelocity of the feed dissipates in the lighter phase zone as thedischarged feed entrains lighter phase material above the interface andspreads across the interior of the vessel, and lighter phases separateup toward an overflow outlet of the vessel while heavier phases separatedown toward an underflow outlet of the vessel; collecting the solventdiluted bitumen from the overflow outlet; and collecting a solventdiluted underflow stream from the underflow outlet.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising degassing vapor from the feed.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the degassing comprises flowing the vapor from thedischarge point out of the vessel via a degassing path.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the vapor that is released via the degassing pathcomprises dissolved gases that are released from the feed upon dischargevia the feed inlet.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the degassing pathcomprises a gas inlet adjacent the discharge point within the vessel anda gas outlet outside of the vessel.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinthe degassing path has an annular cross-section.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the degassing path is defined by a degassing pipe arrangedaround the feed inlet.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein feed inletcomprises a feed pipe extending vertically downward through the top ofthe vessel.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the discharge point is anopen pipe end of the feed pipe.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thevessel is a first stage froth separation vessel, and the feed is solventdiluted bitumen froth.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the top of thevessel is domed and the vessel is configured for pressure containment ofthe feed within the interior.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein theside walls are cylindrical and extend down from the domed top, and thebase is conical and extends down from a lower part of the side walls.13. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a level of theinterface within the vessel.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thecontrolling of the level of the interface comprises controlling a flowrate of the solvent diluted underflow stream.
 15. A method for producingan enriched hydrocarbon material from a feed containing immisciblephases of different densities, the feed being a hydrocarbon contaminatedwith water and minerals and diluted with a solvent, the methodcomprising: discharging the feed into a vessel comprising a top, sidewalls, and a base defining an interior having a height and a diameterdefining a height/diameter ratio, such that settlement of the feed inthe interior of the vessel establishes a heavier phase zone depleted inhydrocarbons in a lower section of the interior, a lighter phase zoneenriched in hydrocarbons in an upper section of the interior, and aninterface in between the heavier phase zone and the lighter phase zone;wherein the discharging of the feed into the interior of the vessel isperformed via a feed pipe that is linear, vertical, spaced-apartequidistantly from the side walls to extend down a center axis of thevessel, and configured for discharging the feed vertically downward intothe lighter phase zone at a discharge point located above the interface,the height/diameter ratio of the vessel, dimensions and position of thefeed pipe, properties of the feed, and a feed velocity at the dischargepoint being provided such that the feed velocity of the feed dissipatesin the lighter phase zone as the discharged feed entrains lighter phasematerial above the interface and spreads across the interior of thevessel, and lighter phases separate up toward an overflow outlet of thevessel while heavier phases separate down toward an underflow outlet ofthe vessel; collecting the enriched hydrocarbon material from theoverflow outlet; and collecting a solvent diluted underflow stream fromthe underflow outlet.
 16. A method for producing solvent dilutedbitumen, the method comprising: adding paraffinic solvent to bitumenfroth to form a solvent diluted bitumen froth; discharging the solventdiluted bitumen froth into a vessel as a feed into a vessel, andseparating the solvent diluted bitumen froth to produce a solventdiluted bitumen as an overflow stream and solvent diluted tailings as anunderflow stream; controlling gravity separation in the vessel such thatsettlement of the solvent diluted bitumen froth in the interior of thevessel establishes a heavier phase zone in a lower section of thevessel, a lighter phase zone in an upper section of the vessel, and aninterface in between the heavier phase zone and the lighter phase zone,and the feed is discharged into the vessel within the lighter phase zoneabove the interface so that a feed velocity of the feed is dissipated inthe lighter phase zone and spreads across the vessel above the interfacewhile lighter phases separate up toward an overflow outlet of the vesseland heavier phases separate down toward an underflow outlet of thevessel; collecting the solvent diluted bitumen from the overflow outletof the vessel; and collecting a solvent diluted underflow stream fromthe underflow outlet of the vessel.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinthe vessel comprises: a domed top, cylindrical side walls, and a conicalbase defining an interior; and a feed pipe extending through the domedtop into the interior of the vessel, the feed pipe having a dischargepoint located within the lighter phase zone, wherein the feed pipe islinear, vertical, spaced-apart equidistantly from the cylindrical sidewalls to extend down a center axis of the vessel, and configured fordischarging the feed vertically downward into the lighter phase zone.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the vessel is configured forpressure containment of the feed within the interior.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising regulating a pressure within the vessel,wherein the regulating comprises controlling a rate at which vaporsaccumulated in the vessel are released by a venting outlet.
 20. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the discharge point is positioned at anelevation above the interface such that a discharge momentum of the feedat the discharge point is dissipated by interaction with the lighterphase zone such that the interface is stable.